Lindsey begins to open up slightly with Samuel Heckler. She finds comfort in him. At this point in the book, Samuel is really the only person she has opened up to since the death of Susie.

Lindsey and her father begin to discuss their suspicions of Mr. Harvey. It is now that Lindsey and her father begin to grow closer. Lindsey is now opening up to more people. However, Lindsey begins to think rashly, and her father does nothing to stop her. He just confirms her suspicions.

"There is no doubt in my mind, honey. None". (Sebold 164)

"Are you still convinced that Mr. Harvey had something to do with it?" (Sebold 163)

At first, Abigail Salmon clings on to the thought that "nothing is ever certain". She doesn't want to believe that Susie is actually dead. She is holding on to Len's words about nothing being certain, although the police believe the inevitable is true.

"After Len's phone call, my father reached out his hand and the two of them sat in the bed together, staring straight in front of them". (Sebold 21)

"Nothing is ever certain". (Sebold 21)

Abigail uses house cleaning activities as a way to avoid everyone else in the family. She does this to distract herself from her daughter's death as well. She begins to fall away from her family, which leads to the family being torn apart slowly.

"She went into the kitchen and counted silverware, methodically laying out three kinds of forks, the knives, and the spoons..." (Sebold 70)

"She pulled Len into her and slowly kissed him on the mouth". (Sebold 148)

This shows Abigail completely starting to break away from her family. She initiates kissing Len in the hospital where her severely injured husband is in surgery. She has lost faith in her family, and has turned to Len as a way to cope with her loss.